The present invention relates to a method of freeing a polysaccharide from a bacterial culture and the bacterial culture free polysaccharide obtained by the method. Specifically, the present invention relates to a method of freeing polysaccharide S-7 from a bacterial culture and the bacterial culture free polysaccharide S-7 obtained by the method.
Polysaccharide S-7 (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cS-7xe2x80x9d) was initially described as a polymer secreted into a culture broth by a bacterium designated as Azotobacter indicus var. myxogenes which was deposited at the American Type Culture Collection as ATCC21423. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,832 issued to Kang et al. on Jun. 1, 1976 which discloses a single composition of matter and U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,800 issued to Kang et al. on Oct. 28, 1975 which discloses the growth of the naturally occurring bacterial strain Azotobacter indicus in a submerged aerated culture in a nutrient medium and the recovery of the polysaccharide. The bacterial strain ATCC21423 was recently cultured and it was determined that the bacteria in the culture belonged to the genus Sphingomonas. See Pollock, T. J., xe2x80x9cGellan-related Polysaccharides and the Genus Sphingomonas,xe2x80x9d Journal of General Microbiology, vol. 139, pp. 1939-1945 (1993)). This culture is referred to as xe2x80x9cSphingomonas strain S7.xe2x80x9d
S-7 is the subject of expired U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,976 issued to Kang et al. on Jul. 15, 1975 which discloses the use of S-7 in water based paints and U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,303 issued to Kang et al. on Sep. 7, 1976 which discloses the use of S-7 in oil well drilling. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,912 issued to Lockyer et al. on Jun. 30, 1998 discloses the use of S-7 in anti-icing formulations and U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,836 issued to Baker et al. on Jul. 31, 1984 discloses the use of S-7 in cement.
Furthermore, published literature concerning this polysaccharide includes a 1977 review by the inventors of the Kang et al. patents which is based on the information in their published patents (See Kang, K. S. and W. H. McNeely, xe2x80x9cA New Bacterial Heteropolysaccharide, In Extracellular Microbial Polysaccharides,xe2x80x9d American Chemical Society, pp. 220-230 (1977)), and two brief studies by others concerning culture conditions for growing the bacterium ATCC21423 (See Lee, J. W., W. G. Yeomans, A. L. Allen, R. A. Gross, and D. L. Kaplan, xe2x80x9cCompositional Consistency of a Heteropolysaccharide-7 Produced by Beijerinckia indica,xe2x80x9d Biotechnology Letters, 19 (1997); and Naumov, G. N., I. G. Multykh, and T. P. Shamrina, xe2x80x9cOptimal Nitrogen and Phosphorous Concentrations in the Growth Medium for Exopolysaccharide Biosynthesis by Beijerinckia indica,xe2x80x9d Mikrobiologiya, pp. 856-857 (1985)).
All of the above mentioned patents and references disclose methods for making S-7 which is contaminated with cell debris and protein from the culture that produced the polymer. Since the S-7 polymer is secreted from the cell and remains attached to the producing cell, precipitation with any of a variety of alcohols leads to the co-precipitation of the S-7 polymer with cells, cell debris, and proteins which are present in the culture broth. After precipitation and removal of the precipitate from the solution, the aqueous solvent is transparent since all of the cells co-precipitate with the S-7 polymer. After the contaminated precipitate is recovered, dried, milled, and resuspended in liquid, the resulting viscous solution is contaminated with cells, cell debris and proteins, and has an opaque or non-transparent appearance. For certain applications, a clear viscous solution is required which lacks the particulate contaminants.
The prior art referred to above describes useful properties of the non-purified polysaccharide S-7. In particular, S-7 is soluble in hot or cold water giving a homogenous viscous mixture. The viscosity of an aqueous suspension of S-7 is highly pseudoplastic and becomes increasingly viscous at low rates of shear or at rest. The high viscosity at low shear rates makes S-7 an effective suspension agent for solids. The low viscosity at high shear rates allows the S-7 polymer solution to be transported as by pumping. The magnitude of pseudoplasticity exceeds that of xanthan gum. For shear rates between 1-10 secxe2x88x921, a solution of S-7 is about 3-5 times more viscous than a comparable solution of xanthan gum. The aqueous viscosity is relatively constant over a wide range of pH, temperature, and salt concentration. The viscosity is compatible with commonly encountered mono-, di- and tri-valent metal ions. However, an aqueous solution of S-7 will form a gel in the presence of di- and tri-valent metal ions if the pH is raised to 9.5-10.5, and the gel is maintained when the pH is returned to neutrality.
Polysaccharides such as S-7 have several applications, for example, as a thickener, suspending agent and stabilizer. In addition, S-7 can be used to modify the viscosity of aqueous solutions. As polysaccharides such as S-7 have several applications, it is one of the purposes of the present invention to provide polysaccharides free from contamination with cell debris and protein which could be even further effective.
Accordingly, we have discovered a novel method for obtaining a polysaccharide containing reduced amounts of contaminating cellular debris and protein. Specifically, the present invention provides for a method for obtaining a polysaccharide substantially free from whole bacterial cells and bacterial cell debris including:
(a) fermenting a Sphingomonas bacterium, which produces the polysaccharide, to produce an aqueous fermentation having the polysaccharide dissolved therein;
(b) diluting the fermentation broth obtained with an equal volume of deionized water;
(c) partially hydrolyzing the polysaccharide by exposing the diluted fermentation broth to a temperature in excess of 100xc2x0 C. for a time period from about ten minutes to about one hour;
(d) removing bacterial cells from the partially hydrolyzed polysaccharide by centrifugation of the heated fermentation broth and recovering a supernatant aqueous liquid;
(e) precipitating the polysaccharide from the supernatant aqueous liquid by adding a second liquid thereto, the second liquid being miscible with water, non-reactive with the polysaccharide, and a non-solvent for the polysaccharide; and
(f) harvesting the precipitated polysaccharide by separating it from the supernatant aqueous liquid.
The bacterium is preferably Sphingomonas strain S7 or a Sphingomonas bacterium modified with a S7c6 gene cluster or segment including at least the spsB and rhsACBD genes. Also, the fermentation broth preferably has a pH of about 6.
Furthermore, the method preferably includes a step of digesting contaminating cellular material by incubating the fermentation broth resulting from step (b) with at least one protease enzyme. The protease enzyme can be selected from the group consisting of Bioprase, MULTIFECT(copyright), Protex 6L and proteinase K.
In addition, step (c) of the above method preferably includes autoclaving the diluted fermentation broth resulting from step (b) at a temperature in excess of 110xc2x0 C. for about 10 to about 30 minutes. More preferably, step (c) includes autoclaving the diluted fermentation broth resulting from step (b) at a temperature of about 121xc2x0 C. for about 15 minutes.
Also, it is preferable in step (d) of the above method that the bacterial cells are removed from the partially hydrolyzed polysaccharide in the fermentation broth by at least two centrifugation steps and the supernatant aqueous liquid recovered from each centrifugation step is used in the subsequent centrifugation step.
Furthermore, step (e) in the above method is preferably carried out at room temperature. In addition, the second liquid in step (e) can be selected from the group consisting of branched chain lower alkanols and lower alkyl ketones. Alternatively, the second liquid can be selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, butanol, t-butanol, isobutanol, amyl alcohol and acetone.
Also, the polysaccharide is preferably harvested in step (f) by centrifuging the supernatant aqueous liquid to isolate a pellet of the polysaccharide. The pellet can then be pressed to remove excess of the second liquid and the pressed pellet can be resuspended in solution. Then, the polysaccharide is reprecipitated by adding second liquid to the resuspended pellet.
It is also preferable that the above method includes a step of freezing and lyophilization of the harvested polysaccharide.
The present invention also provides for a polysaccharide substantially free from whole bacterial cells and bacterial cell debris as determined by light microscopy produced by:
(a) fermenting a Sphingomonas bacterium, which produces the polysaccharide, to produce an aqueous fermentation broth having the polysaccharide dissolved therein;
(b) diluting the fermentation broth with an equal volume of deionized water;
(c) partially hydrolyzing the polysaccharide by exposing the fermentation broth resulting from step (b) to a temperature in excess of 100xc2x0 C. for a time period from about ten minutes to about one hour;
(d) removing bacterial cells from the polysaccharide by centrifugation of the fermentation broth and recovery of a supernatant aqueous liquid;
(e) precipitating the polysaccharide from the supernatant aqueous liquid by adding a second liquid to the supernatant aqueous liquid, wherein the second liquid is miscible with water, non-reactive with the polysaccharide, and in which the polysaccharide is substantially insoluble; and
(f) harvesting the polysaccharide resulting from step (e) by separating it from the supernatant aqueous liquid.
The bacterium is preferably Sphingomonas strain S7 or a bacterium modified with a gene S7c6 cluster or segment including at least the spsB and rhsACBD genes.
The above polysaccharide preferably includes the pyranose forms of rhamnose, glucose, and 2-deoxy-hexuronic acid arranged in the following repeating structure: 
wherein Rhap is the pyranose form of rhamnose, Glcp is the pyranose form of glucose, and HexpA is the pyranose form of hexuronic acid.
Alternatively, the above polysaccharide can include the pyranose forms of rhamnose, glucose, and 2-deoxy-glucuronic acid arranged in the following repeating structure: 
wherein Rhap is the pyranose form of rhamnose, Glcp is the pyranose form of glucose and GlcpA is the pyranose form of glucuronic acid.
The above polysaccharide in a preferred embodiment of the present invention has no side chains.
The present invention also provides for a polysaccharide substantially free from whole bacterial cells and bacterial cell debris as determined by light microscopy produced by:
(a) fermenting a Sphingomonas bacterium, which produces the polysaccharide, to produce an aqueous fermentation broth having the polysaccharide dissolved therein;
(b) diluting the fermentation broth with an equal volume of deionized water;
(c) partially hydrolyzing the polysaccharide by exposing the fermentation broth resulting from step (b) to a temperature in excess of 100xc2x0 C. for a time period from about ten minutes to about one hour;
(d) removing bacterial cells from the polysaccharide by centrifugation of the fermentation broth and recovery of a supernatant aqueous liquid;
(e) precipitating the polysaccharide from the supernatant aqueous liquid by adding a second liquid to the supernatant aqueous liquid, wherein the second liquid is miscible with water, non-reactive with the polysaccharide, and in which the polysaccharide is substantially insoluble; and
(f) harvesting the polysaccharide resulting from step (e) by separating it from the supernatant liquid;
wherein the bacterium is modified with a gene S7c6 cluster or segment including at least the spsB and rhsACBD genes and the polysaccharide includes the pyranose forms of rhamnose, glucose, and 2-deoxy-hexuronic acid arranged in the following repeating structure: 
wherein Rhap is the pyranose form of rhamnose, Glcp is the pyranose form of glucose, and HexpA is the pyranose form of hexuronic acid.
Furthermore, the present invention provides for a polysaccharide substantially free from whole bacterial cells and bacterial cell debris as determined by light microscopy produced by:
(a) fermenting a Sphingomonas bacterium, which produces the polysaccharide, to produce an aqueous fermentation broth having the polysaccharide dissolved therein;
(b) diluting the fermentation broth with an equal volume of deionized water;
(c) partially hydrolyzing the polysaccharide by exposing the fermentation broth resulting from step (b) to a temperature in excess of 100xc2x0 C. for a time period from about ten minutes to about one hour;
(d) removing bacterial cells from the polysaccharide by centrifugation of the fermentation broth and recovery of a supernatant aqueous liquid;
(e) precipitating the polysaccharide from the supernatant aqueous liquid by adding a second liquid to the supernatant aqueous liquid, wherein the second liquid is miscible with water, non-reactive with the polysaccharide, and in which the polysaccharide is substantially insoluble; and
(f) harvesting the polysaccharide resulting from step (e) by separating it from the supernatant liquid;
wherein the bacterium is modified with a gene S7c6 cluster or segment including at least the spsB and rhsACBD genes and the polysaccharide includes the pyranose forms of rhamnose, glucose, and 2-deoxy-glucuronic acid arranged in the following repeating structure: 
wherein Rhap is the pyranose form of rhamnose, Glcp is the pyranose form of glucose and GlcpA is the pyranose form of glucuronic acid.
The present invention provides for a method for obtaining a polysaccharide substantially free from whole bacterial cells and bacterial cell debris. As used herein, xe2x80x9csubstantially freexe2x80x9d means that the polysaccharide is contaminated by not more than about 1.0% by dry weight protein. The protein concentration can be determined by standard methods well known in the art, e.g., Biorad colorimetric dye-binding assay.
The method for obtaining a polysaccharide substantially free from whole bacterial cells and bacterial cell debris includes the following steps:
(a) fermenting a Sphingomonas bacterium, which produces the polysaccharide, to produce an aqueous fermentation broth having the polysaccharide dissolved therein;
(b) diluting the fermentation broth with an equal volume of deionized water;
(c) partially hydrolyzing the polysaccharide by exposing the fermentation broth resulting from step (b) to a temperature in excess of 100xc2x0 C. for a time period from about ten minutes to about one hour;
(d) removing bacterial cells from the polysaccharide by centrifugation of the fermentation broth and recovery of a supernatant aqueous liquid;
(e) precipitating the polysaccharide from the supernatant aqueous liquid by adding a second liquid to the supernatant aqueous liquid, wherein the second liquid is miscible with water, non-reactive with the polysaccharide, and in which the polysaccharide is substantially insoluble; and
(f) harvesting the polysaccharide resulting from step (e) by separating it from the supernatant aqueous liquid.
The phrase xe2x80x9csubstantially insolublexe2x80x9d as used herein means that the second liquid is a non-solvent for the polysaccharide. The second liquid allows sufficient precipitation and recovery of the polysaccharide.
The bacterium is preferably Sphingomonas strain S7 or a bacterium modified with a gene S7c6 cluster or segment including at least the spsB and rhsACBD genes. An unmodified Sphingomonas strain S7 produces polysaccharide S-7 which has a composition well known in the art. See the Kang et al. patents and references cited above.
A Sphingomonas strain S7 modified with a S7c6 gene cluster or segment produces an extracellular polysaccharide S7c6 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as xe2x80x9cS7c6xe2x80x9d) which has a composition shown in a U.S. patent application ______ filed Mar. 10, 2001 and entitled xe2x80x9cProduction of Polysaccharide,xe2x80x9d which is herein incorporated by reference thereto. In particular, the extracellular polysaccharide S7c6 produced by Sphingomonas S7 containing plasmid pRK-S7c6 is composed of L-Rhap, D-Glcp, and 2-deoxy-xcex2-D-arabino-HexpA (hereinafter referred as xe2x80x9c2-deoxy-HexpAxe2x80x9d) in the molar ratios 1:3:1 (2-deoxy-HexpA is 2-deoxyglucuronic acid). The 2-deoxy-HexpA residue is acid-labile and was not detected by glycosyl residue and glycosyl-linkage composition analyses. Its presence was established by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy which also established the relative amounts of the glycosyl constituents. S7c6 is partially fragmented by xcex2-elimination upon treatment with NaOH and deuterium-labeled methyl iodide (C2H3I). The fragments thus formed consist of a series of per-O-trideuteriomethylated oligosaccharides each of which is terminated at their non-reducing end with a xcex94-4,5-2-deoxy-HexpA residue. Glycosyl linkage composition analysis, MALDI-TOF-MS, and one- and two dimensional-1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy of these oligosaccharides established that S7c6 is composed predominantly of the following pentasaccharide repeating unit: 
The terminal xcex2-D-Glcp residue is absent in xcx9c10% of the repeating units, while another xcx9c10% of the repeating units have a second xcex2-D-Glcp- attached to O-6 of what was the terminal xcex2-D-Glcp residue xe2x86x92. Thus, the repeating unit of S7c6 can be unsubstituted or substituted with a mono- or diglucosyl side chain. The length of the side chains is the only detectable difference between S7c6 and S-7 which is the polysaccharide synthesized by the parent bacterium. Each repeating unit of S-7 has a diglucosyl side chain.
Typically, exopolysaccharides are produced by fermentation and then are usually separated from the soluble culture medium by precipitation with an organic solvent such as isopropyl alcohol. The precipitated exopolysaccharides resulting from such separation are contaminated with cells, cell debris, proteins and polyhydroxybutyrate. For example, the concentration of proteins was found to be typically between 10-15% of the dry weight of the precipitate after culturing a Sphingomonas bacterium as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,326,053 and 4,401,760.
In addition, an alcohol-precipitated sample was taken directly from a culture of Sphingomonas bacterium modified with a S7c6 gene or cluster, which is a derivative of Sphingomonas strain S7, without any purification treatment and was analyzed for protein content by the Biorad colorimetric dye-binding assay and it was found to contain 4-5% protein.
The method of the present invention provides for obtaining a polysaccharide containing reduced amounts of contaminating cellular debris and protein.
The following Example exemplifies a method of preparing a polysaccharide according to the present invention. The particular materials and conditions employed are intended to be further illustrative of the invention and are not limiting upon the reasonable scope thereof.